Notes From the Edge is where polished stories end and the truth begins. Hosted by writer, trauma educator, executive advisor, and author Lisa Lacy, this globally ranked podcast explores survival, identity, trauma, addiction, recovery, leadership, relationships, and reinvention through raw, deeply human conversations. No scripts. No small talk. Just the stories we were taught to hide, the roles we performed to survive, and the truths that set us free. What did you perform in order to survive? Welcome to the edge. www.lisalacy.com
What if the story that will not leave you alone is not merely asking to be written, but asking to become a message that changes lives?In this live episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy sits down with her publisher, award-winning author, publishing strategist, and Light Warrior Publishing founder Missy Maxwell Worton for an honest conversation about writing through fear, publishing with purpose, and turning lived experience into lasting impact. Missy has helped hundreds of purpose-driven authors move from an idea to a completed manuscript, publication, launch, platform growth, and bestseller status. Her own author journey began with the deeply personal book Don’t Mess With This Mama: Risking It All to Rescue Our Daughter, which became a number-one Amazon bestseller and received multiple literary honors. Missy also published Lisa’s Reclaiming Your Savage Sovereignty, which remained a number-one New Release in its category for two months. They are now preparing to release Lisa’s most personal work yet, Notes From a Certified Madwoman. Together, Lisa and Missy will explore: • How to know whether you have a book idea or a message you are responsible for sharing • Why talented writers remain trapped in perfectionism and fear • What authors misunderstand about publishing, visibility, and book launches • How to protect your authentic voice during editing • The difference between publishing a book and building a movement • How to tell painful stories without exploiting your own wounds • What makes a publisher believe in an author before the audience or numbers existThis conversation is for aspiring authors, speakers, entrepreneurs, and anyone carrying a story that refuses to remain silent. Where to Find Missy: https://www.missymaxwellworton.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/missy-maxwell-worton-898261371/ How to Find Lisa: https://www.lisalacy.com/ What did you perform in order to survive? And what might it do for your life to finally put that role, mask, or performance down? Welcome to the Edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This conversation includes candid discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, attempts, grief, and the emotional realities carried by survivors and the people who love them. What happens when someone finally tells the whole truth and discovers that the person listening does not panic, turn away, or try to make the story more comfortable? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with Sean Wellington , founder and host of the Suicide Noted podcast, for a candid conversation about suicide, survival, silence, and what it means to truly listen. Since launching Suicide Noted in 2020, Sean has facilitated more than 400 long-form conversations with suicide attempt survivors and people who have experienced suicidal ideation across 47 U.S. states and 27 countries. His mission is to help us become better at talking about the hardest parts of being human so that fewer people are forced to carry them alone. Together, Lisa and Sean explore: What suicide attempt survivors wish more people understood The difference between listening and trying to rescue Why people often remain silent until they reach a crisis What pauses, contradictions, and unfinished sentences reveal The responsibility involved in holding another person’s story How families, clinicians, leaders, and friends can become safer people to tell the truth to This is a conversation about radical listening, difficult truths, and the profound relief of being heard without being reduced to a diagnosis, a crisis, or the worst moment of your life. How to Find Sean: Home | Suicide Noted - Raw Talks with Attempt Survivors www.seangwellington.com The Missing Record How to Find Lisa: www.lisalacy.com Notes From the Edge explores trauma, identity, recovery, leadership, reinvention, and the conversations we should have been having all along. And as always, we end with the question: What did you perform in order to survive? Welcome to the Edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What happens when success arrives before you have had the chance to understand who you are? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with transformational mentor, trauma-informed coach, motivational speaker, former child performer, and Licensed Vocational Nurse Hilary Momberger Powers . Hilary began working in front of the camera at five years old as the voice of Sally Brown in the Peanuts cartoons. Behind the early success, however, were unresolved childhood wounds that later contributed to addiction, painful choices, and a life that began to unravel. After entering recovery in 1983, Hilary discovered that putting down the addiction was only the beginning. The deeper work meant confronting the trauma, identity patterns, and emotional wounds that had been leading her life. Together, Lisa and Hilary explore childhood fame, addiction, inner-child work, recovery, self-advocacy, reinvention, and what it means to stop allowing old pain to make present-day decisions. This is a conversation about moving from victim to victor, reclaiming your voice, and proving that it is never too late to begin again. How to Find Hilary: Hilary Momberger Powers | LinkedIn HILARY POWERS How to find Lisa: Lisa Lacy Lisa Lacy | LinkedIn What did you perform in order to survive? Welcome to the Edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What happens when empathy feels less like a gift and more like carrying everyone else’s emotions inside your own body? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with former client, author, entrepreneur, and radio host Saylor Cooper for an honest conversation about blindness, disability, emotional intelligence, nervous-system awareness, boundaries, and learning how to become the container instead of the sponge. Saylor shares how understanding his emotional depth helped him become calmer, more grounded, and more connected to who he has always been at his core. We also explore how he moved beyond other people’s expectations to create Real Variety Radio and Hope Without Sight , platforms built around resilience, storytelling, music, and meaningful human connection. This conversation is about feeling deeply without disappearing inside what you feel, transforming adversity without allowing it to become your entire identity, and recognizing that emotional sensitivity can become a powerful form of leadership when it is supported by self-awareness and boundaries. Hosted by Lisa Lacy Featuring Saylor Cooper: Saylor Cooper | LinkedIn https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blissful-connections/id1789566162 What did you perform in order to survive? Welcome to the Edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
When doing everything “right” in recovery leaves you smaller, sicker, and further away from yourself. For two years, I did exactly what I was told. Six days a week. Sometimes two meetings a day. Inpatient rehabilitation. Outpatient rehabilitation. Sponsors. Step work. Inventories. Confessions. Amends. I stayed sober. But I was not becoming healthier. I was becoming smaller. In this deeply personal episode of Notes From the Edge , I explore what happens when a recovery model fails to recognize the person sitting in front of it, especially when that person is also carrying childhood trauma, sexual assault, domestic violence, psychiatric diagnoses, shame, and a profoundly dysregulated nervous system. This is not an attack on AA. If AA saved your life, I celebrate that. Truly. Keep going. This is a grief story about realizing that the map I had been given was never designed for the terrain I was walking. We will talk about: • The difference between staying sober and actually healing • When “sharing” becomes uncontained trauma dumping • Why powerlessness, defect language, and submission may affect traumatized women differently • The importance of nervous system regulation, boundaries, safety, and co-regulation • Modern trauma approaches such as EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and somatic therapy • The evolving science of addiction and neuroplasticity • Alternatives including SMART Recovery, Women for Sobriety, LifeRing, medication-assisted treatment, recovery coaching, therapy, purpose, community, and connection • Why informed choice should be part of every recovery conversation My nervous system did not need another moral inventory. It needed safety. Recovery should not require abandoning your intuition or becoming less yourself. It should help you become more yourself. And if one approach is not helping you heal, that does not automatically mean you are broken. Maybe you simply need a different map. This episode reflects personal experience and is intended for education and conversation. It is not a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care. Learn more about Lisa Lacy and her work at www.lisalacy.com And before we leave, I want to ask you the question I ask every guest: What did you perform in order to survive? Welcome to the Edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Beth Granger on visibility, digital trust, critical conversations, and staying human in an increasingly automated world Technology can help us reach thousands of people, write polished messages, and build impressive networks. But it cannot create trust for us. Beth Granger is a speaker, consultant, trainer, emcee, and LinkedIn and networking strategist who helps professionals communicate more confidently, navigate critical conversations, and turn online connections into meaningful relationships. Her message is simple and increasingly urgent: You can’t automate relationships. In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Beth and Lisa explore the fear beneath professional visibility, why people hesitate to post or speak honestly online, and what separates a connection from an actual relationship. They also discuss: • How to become visible without performing a polished professional persona • The difference between listening and simply waiting to speak • What artificial intelligence can support, and what should never be outsourced • Why critical conversations either strengthen trust or quietly destroy it • How leaders, sales professionals, and teams can communicate with greater clarity and humanity • Why connection, curiosity, kindness, and community still matter in an algorithm-driven world This is a conversation about reputation, belonging, confidence, digital communication, and the human work required to make relationships mean something. Learn more about Beth Granger: https://www.bethgranger.com Learn more about Lisa Lacy: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What happens when nothing you accomplish ever seems to be enough? In this solo episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy explores the long-term impact of chronic devaluation, especially when it begins in childhood. She shares personal stories of earning straight A’s, leading teams, serving on committees, excelling in performance, and still feeling as though the finish line kept moving. When you are told to go left and then criticized for not going right, you may stop trusting your own direction. Over time, that confusion can shape your confidence, your relationships, your ambition, and your ability to fully receive your own success. This conversation explores: Why devaluation can create overachievement and overfunctioning How moving standards teach children to distrust themselves Why accomplished adults may still struggle to feel successful How early devaluation can affect romantic and professional relationships The difference between creating from self-expression and performing for approval How to receive feedback without turning it into a verdict on your worth Devaluation did not stop Lisa from becoming a leader, performer, entrepreneur, writer, and creator. She accomplished it anyway. But the deeper work is learning to accomplish without still carrying the need to prove that she deserves to be valued. What have you spent your life accomplishing in the hope that someone would finally recognize your value? And what might you create next if you no longer needed their permission? Welcome to the Edge. www.lisalacy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Bryan Blackmon left Texas for California chasing a dream. Instead, he found himself homeless, sleeping in his car, and drowning in alcohol and addiction. Then an elderly landlord named Elaine chose not to give up on him. Her belief became a turning point, but Bryan still had to do the work of becoming someone he could believe in, too. Today, Bryan is sober, a recovery advocate, transformation coach, and the creator of Crab Crew Life , a community built around recovery, resilience, adaptability, accountability, and belief. Bryan says the crab does not swim. It does not fly. It claws its way forward from the bottom of the ocean floor. And so did he. In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Bryan and Lisa explore: • What homelessness and addiction look like from the inside • The difference between getting sober and rebuilding your identity • Why redemption is not a moment, but a daily routine • The ordinary habits that restore dignity and self-respect • How one person’s belief can help rewrite a life • Why community can carry us when willpower is no longer enough • Who we become when survival is no longer our only identity This is a conversation about second chances, accountability, human connection, and the courage required to keep clawing forward when life has taken you all the way to the bottom. Learn more about Bryan Blackmon and Crab Crew Life: https://crabcrewlif e.com Learn more about Lisa Lacy: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
It is exactly midnight, I am editing Notes From a Certified Madwoman , and I have finally realized something: Maybe I was never crazy. Maybe I was wounded, dysregulated, surviving, and just slightly feral. In this solo episode of Midnight Menopausal Meanderings , I talk about what happens when trauma is mistaken for personality, survival responses are reduced to mental illness, and the context of a person’s life disappears beneath the diagnosis. This is not an argument against therapy, psychiatry, medication, recovery, or mental health treatment. Those things save lives, including mine. It is an invitation to ask a fuller question. Not only: What is wrong with you? But also: What happened to you? I also share why some details were intentionally left out of my book, why telling the whole truth can sometimes bring consequences from the very people who benefited from your silence, and why this book is not an attempt to explain or defend myself. It is an exploration of what happens when we forget that context matters. Because trauma may explain behavior without excusing harm. Because a diagnosis may describe symptoms without telling the whole story. And because sometimes the woman everyone called crazy was carrying more than one nervous system should ever have had to carry alone. Notes From a Certified Madwoman is coming Fall 2026. Welcome to the edge. www.lisalacy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Price of Waiting for Permission and the Power of Becoming Visible Anyway What happens when a woman stops waiting to feel confident, stops explaining every decision, and starts building the life she knows she is capable of creating? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with award-winning entrepreneur, author, podcast host, and founder of the Badass Queen™ movement, Renee Carbone Fleming . Renee filed for bankruptcy. Her marriage ended. She found herself rebuilding from the ground up and made a two-word decision that would shape everything that followed: Watch me. That decision became a philosophy, a movement, and the foundation of the WATCH ME Method™ , Renee’s five-principle operating system for women who are done seeking permission, shrinking their ambitions, and waiting for approval before taking action. Renee went on to build a direct-sales organization that generated more than $13 million, lead a team of over 400 people, create a multimillion-dollar brand empire, publish three books, launch the Unapologetically Badass podcast, and see her brand featured on the NASDAQ billboard in Times Square. In this bold and honest conversation, Lisa and Renee explore: • What reinvention really looks like before the success story becomes polished • Why overexplaining quietly weakens a woman’s authority • The hidden emotional and financial cost of waiting for approval • Why confidence is the result of execution, not the requirement for it • How women can become visible before they feel completely ready • What Renee had to survive, release, and rebuild between bankruptcy and success • How to stop asking others to approve the future you are creating This is a conversation for every woman who has ever known she was capable of more but kept waiting for permission to prove it. Connect with Renee Carbone Fleming: https://badassqueen.co Connect with Lisa Lacy: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Female Anger, Menopause, and What Happens When the Manageable Woman Disappears People celebrate strong women until those women get angry, set boundaries, stop apologizing, or remove access. In this episode of Midnight Menopausal Meanderings , Lisa Lacy explores female anger, menopause, nervous-system overload, and what happens when the emotionally manageable woman begins to disappear. Menopause may not create a new, irrational woman. It may reveal the woman who spent decades swallowing betrayal, exhaustion, grief, emotional labor, and uncomfortable truths to keep everyone else comfortable. This conversation also holds the harder truth: anger can carry important information, but justified rage can still cause harm. Trauma explains behavior. It does not excuse it. Healing is not about silencing anger or worshipping it. It is about learning to hold truth without destruction, boundaries without cruelty, and power without abandoning our humanity. This episode draws from Lisa’s upcoming book, Notes of a Certified Madwoman , an exploration of trauma, survival, identity, nervous-system adaptation, and the women we became in order to survive. Who benefited from the version of you who carried her suffering quietly? Welcome to the edge. www,lisalacy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What happens when the thing that made you feel most alive nearly kills you? “Rocketman” Dan Schlund is one of the last professionally trained Rocketbelt pilots in the world. For a decade, he flew jet packs at events across 25 countries and six continents, performing hundreds of flights without a parachute and with only seconds of fuel strapped to his back. But Dan’s most extraordinary story began after the spectacle ended. Following devastating burns, extensive skin-graft surgeries, and a crash that left him with a broken neck, Dan lost far more than his ability to fly. He lost his income, his marriage, and the identity he had built around being the Rocketman. He also became dependent on pain medication and had to rebuild his life from the ground up. Dan eventually founded National Set Medics, growing it into a multimillion-dollar company that provides medical professionals for film and television productions nationwide. Ten years after his final flight, he purchased the Rocketbelt and training hangar and returned to the air one more time for his memoir and documentary, The Last Rocketman . In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy and Dan explore: • What happens when your identity disappears overnight • The difference between courage and fearlessness • How the nervous system responds after catastrophic injury • Addiction, recovery, and the invisible work behind a comeback • Calculated risk and decision-making under pressure • Why Dan believes fear is information, not instruction • What it took to strap the Rocketbelt on one final time Dan’s message is not that we should become fearless. It is that courage can be practiced, preparation can change our relationship with fear, and our worst experience does not have to become our final one. Learn more about Dan, his book, and the documentary: https://rocketman.tv/ Learn more about Lisa Lacy and Notes From the Edge : https://www.lisalacy.com/ Welcome to the Edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Psychiatric labels, medical dismissal, and what happens when a human being becomes paperwork What happens when a provider sees your psychiatric history before they truly see you? In this deeply personal solo episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy explores the dangerous gap between being treated as a medically complex human being and being reduced to “the psychiatric patient.” Drawing from her lived experience inside mental health facilities, jail, addiction recovery, emergency rooms, and repeated life-threatening medical crises, Lisa examines how quickly dignity, autonomy, and credibility can disappear once a diagnosis enters the room. This episode explores institutionalization, medical gaslighting, hospital trauma, psychiatric bias, and the devastating consequences of being labeled emotional instead of symptomatic, anxious instead of endangered, and crazy instead of sick. It also offers an early look into Lisa’s forthcoming memoir, Notes From a Certified Madwoman , releasing in October. Part memoir, part cultural critique, and part nervous-system conversation, the book asks a question that could change how we understand trauma and mental illness: What if the diagnosis was sometimes describing survival? Mental illness should never cancel physical illness. A psychiatric record should never erase a patient’s credibility. Institutionalization should never require the surrender of human dignity. Learn more about Lisa, the podcast, and her upcoming work at: https://lisa-lacy.com Notes From a Certified Madwoman releases in October. See you at the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What happens when you grow up without hearing “I love you,” without being held, and without learning what safe, enduring affection feels like? In this deeply personal solo episode of Midnight Menopausal Meanderings , I explore the difference between loving someone and knowing how to experience love. My parents never told me they loved me. My father wrote the words in letters I would not open until decades later, after he died. My mother never said them. I learned touch through violation rather than comfort, and when I became a mother, I had to consciously teach myself how to hug my daughter and say, “I love you.” For years, I believed love meant providing. I became the financial provider, the problem-solver, the rescuer, and eventually a workaholic driven by survival. Now, with the help of transformational coach Steve Barton, I am exploring a different idea: Love can be wisdom. Love can be trust. And love can simply be love. We also talk about menopause, the disappearing bullshit filter, and the challenge of setting boundaries that are loving, direct, and final. Because you can love someone, understand them, forgive them, and still decide they no longer have access to you. This next chapter is not about performing love. It is about finally learning what love feels like when it does not require self-abandonment. What did you perform in order to survive? Learn more at lisalacy.com See you at the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Burnout, Boundaries, and Why the Most Capable Person in the Room May Be Closest to the Edge What happens when competence becomes a survival strategy? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with life coach and former technology leader Loren Silverman for an honest conversation about burnout, overthinking, boundaries, self-abandonment, and the hidden cost of always being the capable one. After nearly two decades working in technology, program management, and digital transformation, Loren realized that the part of his career that mattered most was not the technology. It was helping the people behind it. He also recognized a difficult truth: persistence can look admirable from the outside while quietly costing us our satisfaction, health, and connection to ourselves. Today, Loren is the founder of Silverman Coach and the creator of Life Reboot: Nerd Edition , a coaching experience for nerds, geeks, overthinkers, and overwhelmed professionals who are ready to trade chaos for clarity, build meaningful boundaries, and finally follow through on what matters. Together, Lisa and Loren explore why the most capable person in the room may also be the person closest to the edge, how competence becomes a performance, and why real transformation is often built through small, repeatable choices rather than dramatic overhauls. They also discuss the difference between persistence and self-abandonment, the role values play in decision-making, and what it takes to stop treating yourself like a problem that needs to be optimized. Learn more about Loren Silverman and Silverman Coach: http://silverman.coach Learn more about Lisa Lacy and Notes From the Edge: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
How Parents Can Recognize Risk, Interrupt Addiction, and Become Their Child’s Strongest Protective Force Every parent wants to believe their child will know how to recognize danger, make the right decision, and walk away when drugs enter the picture. But today’s drug landscape is more accessible, potent, and aggressively marketed than many families realize. By the time a parent knows something is wrong, the problem may already be much larger than anyone understood. In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with author, educator, private investigator, and addiction prevention advocate Dave Kopeny . Dave grew up in a home consumed by addiction. He was given LSD at eight years old, knew how to roll a joint by nine, and later lost his father, brother, and sister-in-law to alcohol and drug use. Those experiences became the foundation for more than 30 years of work with adolescents, young adults, and families navigating addiction and other high-risk behaviors. Throughout his career, Dave has served as a school counselor, teacher, probation officer, law enforcement officer, gang investigator, and private investigator specializing in teen addiction and intervention. Together, Lisa and Dave explore: • Why the “war on drugs” failed • How parents can recognize the early warning signs of substance use • The difference between healthy supervision and destructive surveillance • How social media and modern drug markets target young people • What parents should do when they suspect their child is using drugs • How families can replace fear and helplessness with awareness, action, and hope Dave is the author of Tip of the Spear: How to Educate, Supervise, and Monitor Your Child in a World of Increasing Drug Abuse and Addiction and the founder of ASAP Community , where he provides parents with practical tools to protect and support their children. Connect with Dave Kopeny: https://asapcommunity.org Connect with Lisa Lacy: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jim Hughes on Identity, Fear, Self-Judgment, and Becoming the Person Beneath the Performance The person who got you here may have been exactly who you needed to become. The achiever. The problem-solver. The founder who never stops moving. The leader who learned how to carry the pressure, meet the expectations, and become whatever the moment required. But what happens when that identity begins keeping you from where you want to go next? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with coach, author, speaker, and Untamed founder Jim Hughes for a conversation about the stories, fears, and deeply rooted beliefs that quietly shape who we become. Jim has lived in 12 countries, built and led a multimillion-dollar engineering business in Australia, explored an extraordinary range of careers, and even skied the world’s longest giant slalom race wearing only a G-string. For the past decade, he has helped high-achieving founders and leaders stop living as the people they believe they should be and begin becoming the people they genuinely want to be. Together, Lisa and Jim explore: • The hidden ways founders and high performers waste energy • Why motivation may be overrated • How fear disguises itself as ambition and growth • Why changing what you do is not enough without examining who is doing it • The role self-judgment plays in keeping people stuck • How voices from our past continue influencing decisions they are no longer entitled to make • What it takes to release the identity that helped you survive This is a conversation about success, identity, performance, and the courage required to stop obeying the person you once needed to be. Connect with Jim Hughes and Untamed: https://www.becomeuntamed.com Connect with Lisa Lacy: https://www.lisalacy.com Notes From the Edge is where we explore trauma, identity, recovery, reinvention, and the deeply human stories underneath the roles we perform. Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Curiosity, Compliance, and Teams That Think. Why do capable, intelligent teams stop taking initiative? Sometimes it is not because people are lazy, disengaged, or unwilling to contribute. Sometimes they have learned that following directions is safer than asking questions, challenging assumptions, or offering an original idea. In this episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy sits down with Dr. Katie Trowbridge, an award-winning educator, TEDx speaker, leadership strategist, author, and CEO of Curiosity 2 Create. After more than 25 years in the classroom, Katie began bringing the principles of curiosity, trust, and thoughtful questioning into organizations. Her work helps leaders move beyond managing behavior and toward creating cultures where people think deeply, contribute ideas, take ownership, and lead with purpose. Together, Lisa and Katie explore: • Why leadership shifted from developing people to managing compliance • Why capable teams sometimes stop taking initiative • The leadership habits that unintentionally silence good ideas • What great teachers understand about human development • How curiosity and trust create stronger workplace cultures • The CREATE Method™ and how leaders can build teams that think for themselves Dr. Katie Trowbridge is the author of Lead Boldly, Think Deeply and the creator of the CREATE Method™, a framework designed to help leaders develop stronger thinkers and more sustainable organizational cultures. Learn more about Dr. Katie Trowbridge and Curiosity 2 Create: https://curiosity2create.org Learn more about Lisa Lacy and Notes From the Edge: https://www.lisalacy.com Join us for a human conversation about leadership, curiosity, and what becomes possible when people are trusted to think. See you at the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What happens when someone you love is in crisis, refuses help, and waiting for them to become “ready” may cost them their life? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with attorney, former prosecutor, and family crisis advocate Mark Astor for a necessary and deeply human conversation about addiction, severe mental illness, involuntary treatment, family trauma, and the difficult line between compassion and enabling. Mark is a partner at Astor Simovitch Law , where he helps families navigate crises involving psychiatric instability, substance use, failed treatment efforts, medical complexity, and resistance to care. His work includes emergency guardianships, recovery planning, and legal intervention through Florida laws such as the Baker Act and Marchman Act. This work is not theoretical for Mark. Two days after burying his father, he stood beside police and paramedics as a member of his own family was involuntarily transported for psychiatric evaluation. That experience gave him a perspective no courtroom ever could and ultimately shaped his mission to help families take informed, lawful, and compassionate action before irreversible harm occurs. Together, Lisa and Mark explore why “waiting until they are ready” can sometimes be deadly, how cognitive impairment affects a person’s ability to recognize that they need help, and when legal intervention may become an act of love rather than punishment or control. They also examine the emotional burden carried by parents, spouses, and siblings, the civil-rights questions surrounding involuntary treatment, and how families can preserve a loved one’s dignity while still acting to protect their life. Behind every diagnosis, arrest, psychiatric hold, or involuntary commitment is a human being trying to survive and a family desperately trying not to lose them. Learn more about Mark Astor and his work: https://x.com/AstorSimovitch https://www.instagram.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@astorsimovitchlaw Learn more about Lisa Lacy and Notes From the Edge: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Addiction, Bipolar Disorder, and Rebuilding a Life with the S.O.B.E.R. Method What happens when you remove the substance, but the pain, pressure, and survival patterns underneath it remain? In this episode of Notes From the Edge , Lisa Lacy sits down with author, entrepreneur, podcast host, and addiction recovery advocate Massimo Rigotti for an honest conversation about addiction, bipolar disorder, grief, confidence, and the complicated work of rebuilding a life in recovery. After navigating addiction, mental-health challenges, professional upheaval, and devastating personal loss, Massimo created the S.O.B.E.R. Method™ , a framework combining Stoic principles, self-observation, behavior modification, the execution of positive habits, and holistic restoration. Together, Lisa and Massimo explore why abstinence may be only the beginning, what traditional recovery models can sometimes overlook, and how shame, identity, self-trust, and confidence influence a person’s ability to create lasting change. They also examine the hidden dependencies of high-achieving professionals, the difference between looking functional and genuinely being well, and what it takes to stop escaping yourself and begin building a life you no longer need to numb. Learn more about Massimo Rigotti and the S.O.B.E.R. Method: Digital S.O.B.E.R. Method: Beat Phone Addiction and Reclaim Your Attention in 5 Stoic Steps — Available now! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H93ZTVS9/ Free gift! Want the tools I use with clients? https://sobermethod.com/5tools Your Future is S.O.B.E.R.™Website: https://sobermethod.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sobermethod/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sobermethod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sobermethod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sobermethod Learn more about Lisa Lacy and Notes From the Edge: https://www.lisalacy.com Welcome to the edge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
